January 3rd:
1917
Born on this day in Houston, was Leon McAuliffe who played steel guitar for Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys from 1935-1942. He scored his own instrumental hit in 1949 with “Panhandle Rag.”
1950
Sun Studio was opened by Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with Sun Records. Rock-and-roll, country music, and rockabilly artists, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Ray Harris, Warren Smith, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis, recorded there throughout the mid to late 1950s
1966
Jack Greene was at #1 on the US Country charts with “There Goes My Everything”, which spent 7 weeks at the top of the chart. The song won several awards, including “Single of the Year” and “Song of the Year” at the very first CMA Awards.
1969
Born on this day in La Mesa, California, was Nikki Nelson, country music singer who replaced Paulette Carlson as lead vocalist in Highway 101, (featuring on their album Bing Bang Boom).
1976
C. W. McCall was at #1 on the US country album chart with Black Bear Road, which included the #1 hit novelty song, “Convoy”. The song itself was largely responsible for starting a nationwide citizens’ band radio craze. The song “Black Bear Road” in turn popularized the now-infamous road itself, along with its “You don’t HAVE to be crazy to drive this road – but it helps” sign.
1991
Billy Ray Cyrus signed his first recording contract with Mercury Records.
2009
Taylor Swift was at #1 on the country chart with Fearless. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Country Album. Swift’s Album of the Year win made her the youngest person ever at the age of 20 to receive that award. Fearless was also the first album in history to win the American Music Award, Academy of Country Music Award, Country Music Association Award, and GrammyAward for Album of The Year in the same year making it the most awarded album in the history of country music.
2014
Phil Everly died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, just sixteen days prior to his 75th birthday. The cause of his death was complications attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a combination of emphysema and bronchitis), brought on by a lifetime of smoking. The Everly Brothers were elected to Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
2017
Producer Sam Lovullo died aged 88. He was responsible for bringing country music to mainstream television and produced Hee Haw which premiered on CBS in June of 1969, and ran on the network until 1971, after which it ran for another two decades in syndication. Anchored by veteran country stars Roy Clark and Buck Owens, the show featured a regular cast, as well as weekly guest appearances from the biggest stars, legends and most up-and-coming names in the genre.
